A drone equipped with a thermal camera is seen in this file photo. CANBERRA, Australia--Robyn McIntyre, who lives on the outskirts of Australia's capital, was in her family room a few months ago when she thought she heard a "chain saw gone ballistic." It was actually a drone on its way to deliver a burrito or coffee as part of a test from Wing, which like Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. One recent day, she said delivery drones flew over her house about 10 times in 2½ hours, making it difficult to focus on working or reading the newspaper. "There's one!" said Ms. McIntyre, 64 years old, drinking tea in her living room on a recent Saturday morning.

Before Alphabet's Wing drones can start dropping off deliveries all over the globe, the company has to remedy one of the biggest complaints about it first. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the drones are extremely noisy -- someone who lives directly under the drones' path in rural Australia where they're current being tested described the sound they make as "chainsaw gone ballistic." Since the tech will not widely adopted if it's that noisy (especially in dense urban areas) Wing is now developing a quieter drone. The Alphabet subsidiary, which used to be an X Lab project until it became a standalone company in mid-2018, has been testing its drones in Australia since 2014. Apparently, the machines create so much noise that people don't even use their yards anymore.

The drones were first spotted at Gatwick on Dec. 19. Every time the airport sought to reopen the runway, the drones returned and authorities only regained control over the airfield after the army deployed military technology to guard the area.

Drone operators are being warned about rules for flying after a drone forced the grounding of firefighting aircraft battling a blaze on Tasmania's Bruny Island. Tasmania police said the aircraft had to be grounded because firefighting efforts at Conleys Point, south Bruny, were being hampered by a drone flown in the area, putting community safety at risk. "This is a reminder to all operators of drones to not fly near aircraft at any time," police said. "This puts the safety of people in aircraft at risk and also impacts on the safety of the community." Flying drones near public safety or emergency operations, such as bushfires, can be an offence under Civil Aviation Safety Authority rules.

On Sunday, police said both individuals had cooperated fully and were no longer suspects, adding that they were continuing to follow leads in their investigation. The airport offered a £50,000 ($63,200) reward for any evidence that leads to the conviction of those responsible for the disruption, police said. Drone use around commercial flights is a growing safety concern for regulators. Prosecutions when drones are flown too close to commercial planes are rare, and some instances of drone sightings by commercial airliners have turned out to be inaccurate. This month, authorities in Mexico investigated a potential collision of an Aeromexico jetliner with a drone.

Sussex Police have released the man and woman arrested on December 21st after determining that they're "no longer suspects" behind the multiple incidents. Don't anticipate new suspects in the future, either. Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Tingley said his force continued to "actively follow lines of investigation," but didn't hint at where those might lead. In a conversation to Sky News, Tingley said officers had found a damaged drone at the airport in Horley and were on an "expedited" effort to examine that drone for evidence. There's an increased financial motivation to bring the perpetrators in, at least.

This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. After 45 hours of research and test flying 14 models, we think the DJI Mavic 2 Pro is the best drone for aspiring aerial photographers and videographers thanks to its high-end camera, autonomous obstacle avoidance, long battery life, and portability. Pilots of all skill levels will find it to be exceptionally reliable and easy to fly. The Mavic 2 Pro features a Hasselblad-branded camera (DJI bought a majority stake in the camera brand in 2017), which captures 20-megapixel photographs and 4K videos that look more colorful than those captured by the competition. Its ability to sense and avoid obstacles in all directions and steadily hold its position even in moderate winds lets you focus on your cinematography instead of worrying about keeping the drone steady. It also features DJI's smart-flight modes like ActiveTrack, which directs the drone to autonomously follow and film a subject while still avoiding obstacles. Its 31-minute battery life means you don't have to land for a battery swap as often as other drones, and at 8.4 by 3.6 by 3.3 inches folded and 2 pounds, you can take the Mavic 2 Pro almost anywhere--it fits exceptionally well in our top pick for drone backpacks. It's also compatible with the DJI Goggles FPV headset we recommend. The Mavic 2 Zoom looks and flies identical to the Mavic 2 Pro, but it trades out the Hasselblad camera in favor of a different camera that can zoom 2 times optically and 2 times digitally (with software that avoids losing detail), for up to 4x usable "lossless" zoom.

Detection systems are now able to be deployed throughout the UK to combat the threat of drones, ministers say. It follows three days of disruption at Gatwick airport last week, when drones were sighted near the runway. Security minister Ben Wallace said those who use drones "either recklessly or for criminal purposes" could expect "the most severe sentence". It comes after the couple arrested and released without charge over the chaos at Gatwick said they felt "violated". About 1,000 flights were affected during 36 hours of chaos at Gatwick airport last week.

I can't count the number of animal stories that appeared in my timelines this year with comments like, "Everything is garbage, so here's this." There was the cat who was reunited with her family after the Camp Fire, in California, and the parrot who was adopted after getting kicked out of an animal shelter for swearing too saltily. Among the bears preparing for hibernation at Katmai National Park, a female named Beadnose became famous for being the most gloriously round. There was the baby raccoon who scaled a skyscraper in St. Paul, "Mission Impossible" style, stopping occasionally for naps in window ledges along the way. Stories from the animal world offer reliable moments of escapism--the ones we see in viral videos are usually cute, or tame, or strange and majestic, and glimpsed from a safe distance.

LONDON - London's Gatwick Airport was operating without problems Sunday, but the fugitive drone operators who brought incoming and outgoing flights to a standstill over multiple days remained at large -- and a potential threat -- after police cleared two local residents who were arrested as suspects. Sussex Police were hopeful they had halted the disruptive and costly drone incursions during one of the heaviest travel periods of the year with Friday's arrests of a couple who live near the airport. But they were released Sunday, and police said they were no longer suspects. Tens of thousands of passengers suffered through long flight delays or were stranded by cancellations after two drones were reported seen above the airfield at Gatwick on Wednesday night, prompting an immediate suspension of all air traffic. Sussex Chief Detective Jason Tingley said Sunday he could not rule out new drone activity at Gatwick or other U.K. airports.